India to join Qatar meet on Afghanistan situation today

India is set to participate in a meeting of key countries being hosted by Qatar on Thursday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan against the backdrop of the Taliban’s massive offensive that has already resulted in the fall of nine provincial capitals.

People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that India will be represented at the meeting in Doha that will also be joined by nations such as Indonesia and Turkey, which is set to take over the security of Bagram airbase.

There was no official word on the matter from the external affairs ministry and the people

NEW DELHI:

cited above were tight-lipped about the level of India’s participation. The invitation to join the meeting was extended by Mutlaq bin Majed Al-qahtani, Qatar’s special envoy for counter-terrorism and conflict resolution, when he visited New Delhi last week.

Qatar on Wednesday hosted a meeting of the “extended troika” that was convened by Russia and was joined by the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, and his counterparts from Russia, China and Pakistan. On Tuesday, Qatar had hosted a meeting of representatives from China, the US, the UK, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the UN and the European Union (EU) to assess the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan.

The focus of these meetings has been reviving the stalled Afghan peace process amid the Taliban’s campaign of violence and attacks that has already resulted in the fall of nine provincial capitals in just five days – Sheberghan, Sari Pul, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan, Pul-e-khumri, Farah, Zaranj and Faizabad.

India has already said that any forcible takeover of Kabul will not be legitimate, and backed calls for a negotiated political settlement that preserves the gains under a democratic system over the past two decades and ensures the rights of minorities, women and ethnic groups.

New Delhi also advised all Indian nationals in Afghanistan on Tuesday to make immediate arrangements to return home.